


Consider This

by airshipcity



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-12 00:00:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4457537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airshipcity/pseuds/airshipcity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I want you to tell everyone you think I'm handsome. Make it sound natural." </p>
<p>David does not end up leaving, Rachel loses a bet, and the two of them get into an intricate web of pretend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Consider This

"I want you to tell everyone you think I'm handsome. Make it sound natural." 

Rachel could have strangled him on the spot. 

"You are a monster," she grumbled, shoulders slumping just barely. While he had in fact won their bet fair and square - his morph was done several long seconds before her fingers stopped being feathery - she didn't want to give him too much satisfaction in seeing her squirm before him. It was bad enough she'd let him dare her in the first place. Stupid pride. 

David didn't seem bothered, though. "And you can't tell them it's because of the bet, either. If you can't make at least half of them believe you mean it, I'll make you do worse." 

"Worse than pretending you're attractive in the slightest?" 

"As if you didn't have a terrible enough plan in mind for me, too. I know you." 

It was a fair point. Rachel conceded silently that she couldn't very well just back out now, or he was bound to tell the others that she wasn't even honorable enough to follow through after losing a bet. 

"Let's make a deal," she finally responded through gritted teeth. "If I can get them all to believe me, like you want, I get to make you do something as well." 

He looked surprised, but not terribly. "Fine. Convince them all that you think I'm devilishly handsome - and don't tell them beforehand just so they can put on a show of believing you. I'll be keeping an eye on you." 

_Jeez. Not creepy at all._ Still, Rachel was satisfied with the possibility of getting back at him. The fact that he'd gotten this out of her was bad enough; she wouldn't give him double the satisfaction if she could help it. 

\- - - 

The usual barn meeting consisted of just six Animorphs the following day. 

"Where's David?" Jake asked, somewhat irritated. "He's usually one of the first to show up." 

Outside the barn, Rachel wanted to respond. Listening in, already morphed, spying. 

"I don't think he's coming today. I went to check on him earlier today and he said he didn't feel too well, and you did say this wouldn't require everyone, so I told him to just rest up for the day." Cassie bit her lip, looking at Jake. "I hope that was alright." 

"I suppose," Jake responded, letting out a small breath of air. "Okay, let's start. Tobias says he's found another potential meeting place for Controllers. Still, we won't know what to do about them until we know what they're up to, so we'll have to check it out for ourselves. I'd actually hoped David might want to go, just to get him some activity." 

"Shame he's not here, then," Rachel commented, mentally preparing herself for total mortification. "Haven't seen his handsome face since last week." 

**His what?** Tobias immediately inquired from his usual perch. 

"Nothing," she immediately added, knowing perfectly well they all heard her. 

"I must be hearing things," Marco responded, though he seemed genuinely intrigued by the possible slip-up. "I thought I just heard Rachel call David handsome." 

"No, I didn't." 

"I think you did, Rachel." There was a somewhat playful smile on Cassie's lips, though Rachel recognised a vague touch of concern behind her eyes. 

"Forget it," she huffed, getting up on her feet. Her plan had apparently worked; Rachel almost wished her old teacher could've seen her, acting as though she was being paid for the performance. "You guys figure out who's going. I'm busy anyway." With that, she all but stormed out of there, lips pressed together. 

As she left the barn, hiding herself behind the tall walls to morph into her bald eagle, she heard a vaguely astonished Jake from inside. "I didn't even say when we were going." 

If Tobias had anything to add in private, he was blissfully quiet about it for now. Was he judging her, too? Maybe he felt a little snubbed. She'd have to explain herself eventually, once David was satisfied. 

**Impressive,** David's voice murred inside her mind. **If they all still believe it the next time we all meet up, both of us, you get your part of the deal.**

**That wasn't part of the deal,** Rachel responded, taking flight, a slight edge to her voice. How long did he plan on having her keep up this little game? 

**It is now,** he responded, amusement lacing every word. **See you tomorrow, Rachel.**

\- - - 

**I thought you said you were busy.** Tobias' voice came from outside the window, as it tended to to, though Rachel hadn't expected the late visit from her friend. Putting down her book with a small sigh - not like she'd gotten too much out of it anyway - she kicked off her duvet and opened the window, letting him inside. 

"I was. Family talk." 

**Yeah? Did you tell them about David too?**

"You didn't come here to talk about that," Rachel replied curtly, hoping Tobias would take a hint without taking offense at the same time. 

**Not really, no. I came to tell you about the recon, since you made a point of your absence and when Jake called your house half an hour ago, your mother said you'd already gone to bed.** His hawk eyes looked as stern as always, but at the very least he didn't sound angry. That was a start. 

"Alright, go on. Tell me." She sat down on the bed again, though Tobias perched on the windowsill rather than landing next to her. 

**You got it.**

\- - - 

The next day, David got the update, too. 

While the barn had stopped feeling unusually crowded just with one extra group member, the tension in the room as Rachel entered was palpable. David looked at her with such casual ease that Rachel almost thought he'd forgotten it all for a moment, until he opened his mouth, the corners of his lips quirking up as he spoke. "Fashionably late. Almost thought you weren't coming today." 

"Unlike some, I don't usually call in sick days." Rachel sat down, taking a deep breath. She'd have to still play along if she had any home of winning the dare she'd put on herself. "Feel better?" 

"I do, actually. Didn't expect you to care." 

Rachel wasn't sure which was more infuriating - the fact that he played his part so well, or the fact that she had let him extend the dare in the first place. 

"I don't." She averted her eyes, steadily staring at the wall until it was clear to everyone that she wasn't continuing that discussion. Anything else, she assumed, would've ruined the illusion too easily - besides, Rachel figured that if she really had thought he was handsome and it had slipped out, she wouldn't outright admit to caring for him a second time. A brief implication would have to do. 

Jake cleared his throat, to Rachel's relief. "Anyway. David, you missed yesterday, but I called in everyone to discuss a recon mission. I'd have sent you, but..." He glanced at Cassie briefly. "Marco and Tobias went to check it out. It might be nothing, but it's at least worth following up, just in case." 

Rachel caught a glimpse of David in the corner of her eye as Marco started talking. He was watching her, briefly raising an eyebrow as she turned her head to look at him. What, it wasn't good enough for him? What more did her expect her to do? She had no intentions of turning every meeting into the Rachel Humiliation Show just so he could have his weird entertainment. 

"Rachel, are you even listening?" Jake's voice. 

Damnit. 

"Tobias already told me about it," she muttered, looking away from David again, feeling somewhat mortified that they'd caught her off-guard - no doubt reinforcing anyone's belief that she was staring at him for other reasons than silent frustration, though. 

Even without looking at him for the rest of the meeting, she could easily guess that he was probably nurturing a satisfied smirk. 

\- - - 

"Are you happy now?" 

"Very. I liked the touch where you openly stared at me." 

"Don't push your luck. You promised me I'd get to make you do something in return, if I convinced them all." 

They were outside in the forest, near a small clearing. While David had finally deigned to accept the makeshift home Cassie had provided him with in the hayloft of the barn, it was no place to talk privately, and this part of the forest was far enough from Tobias' preferred area and nowhere near Ax's place. David had personally claimed the hayloft felt cramped and claustrophobic. 

The forest didn't have a TV and a swimming pool, but at least it was spacey. 

"Fine, you got me. What do you want me to do?" David folded his arms, his back leaning against a tree trunk. "I assume it has something to do with those bags you brought here." 

Rachel smiled at him, lifting one of the shopping bags up and handing it to the blond opposite her. 

"I get to dress you up however I want for a month." 

He laughed. It was a sound that rang of genuine amusement at first, then disbelief, but David offered an amazed grimace as the laugh died out. "Seriously? My great punishment is that you get to play dress-up like I'm a Barbie doll?" 

"Don't be ridiculous. If anything, you'd have to be Ken." 

David finally took the bag, clearly somewhat skeptical of the contents as he pulled out the brand garments one by one. "You bought me designer clothes," he stated. 

"Your sense of style is awful. If you're going to make me call you attractive, you'll have to look the part. I won't have a reputation of falling for slobs in garish V-neck T-shirts." 

He looked at her again, eyes searching hers for ulterior motives. Finally, seemingly unable to cook up any immediate terrible scenarios containing the two of them and brand clothes, his lips pursed. 

"Don't look while I change." 

She turned away, for once happy to obey him. A few short minutes later, David finally gave her the okay to turn back around, allowing her to admire her handiwork. 

While the Tommy Hilfiger underwear and socks weren’t quite visible, the fashionably worn red sneakers would work well with most of the outfits she’d had in mind, which was a good start. For most of his sizes, she’d had to guess - it seemed she had been fairly close, though. A blue T-shirt hung nicely around his torso, loose-fitting without hanging on him like a tent, the light blue jeans didn’t hang too loosely off his hips, and the dark faux-leather jacket completed the look just fine. 

It wasn’t perfect, but she had a month to experiment. A smile curled up on her face as she came up to him, adjusting the shoulders of his jacket, to some mild protest from David’s side. 

“Stop fussing,” he huffed, though he let her finish and pull away. “You must really like looking at me, Rachel, since you’re going through all this trouble just to have an excuse to dress me up for weeks on end.” 

“If the others are going to think I see anything worth watching in your pasty face, I’ll at least have you look less like a mess,” Rachel responded, still looking very pleased. “I can’t have a reputation of falling for someone who dresses like last year.” 

David sniffed, hands exploring the pockets of his new jacket. “I don’t dress like last year.” 

“Yes, you do. Not to mention, you _smell_ like last year. We’ll have to get you a shower if I’m going to stand hanging around you.” 

“Are you volunteering your shower?” 

“Never.” 

“Then you can shove it until someone does have one I can use.” 

Even with the slight edge to David’s tone - being homeless was still a bit of a touchy subject for him, she knew - there was an unexpected pleasant comfort in their banter. 

“Did the shoes fit, by the way? I wasn’t sure if they would.” 

“They’re fine. You’re not buying me new clothes every day, right?” He squinted at her. 

“Of course not. Don’t worry about it, I’ll figure things out.” 

David didn’t look extremely reassured, but he didn’t press the issue. “As long as you’re willing to do my laundry too, fine. I’ll wear whatever.” 

So far, the next month was already looking a little better than it had yesterday. 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this post: http://incorrectmorpherquotes.tumblr.com/post/125001297468/david-next-i-want-you-to-tell-everyone-that-im 
> 
> Thanks to tumblr user krakendra for being an excellent motivator and beta! I'll try to keep this fic going for quite a while, if I can.


End file.
